Bitki Wołowe [beet-kee vo-wo-veh v soh-sheh moo-shtar-doh-vim] are beef cutlets, simmered until they are soft and tender, in an aromatic brown mustard sauce served over a favorite starch. Perfect combo for a cold fall/winter dinner.
It’s not secret that Poles love meat sauces… chicken, pork or beef, lightly sautéed and simmered in sauce always works. No room for error. Even a beginner chef will knock this one out of the park and impress their dinner guests.
Bitki wołowe will make a perfect Sunday dinner, they do need a bit of time to cook, so start early, but they do not to be “babysat”, set-it-and-forget-it kind of cooking. Once done, they’ll do fine just hanging out in the pot until you’re ready to serve them with the rest of your dinner.
Sunday in my home was always a day of rest (cooking doesn’t count). Even after my brother and I left home, we’d come together on Sundays at our parent’s house (or at grandma’s) for Sunday dinner. We’d spend some time at the table, and often took a long walk (well, mainly the strongest members of the family) in the woods behind our house while the men slept off the meat with a “power nap”. Cake would be served afterwards, and leftovers packed into jars to be taken home by us (the young and always on the go, with no time to cook) for dinner later in the week. I very much enjoyed those Sundays, and reserved the day to be spent with the family.
Polish Beef Steaks in Mustard Sauce {Bitki Wołowe w Sosie Musztardowym}
Ingredients
- 1 eye round roast (mine was about 1.8 lbs / 800 g) or other lean beef roast
- 2 - 3 tbs of oil
- 4 cups of stock (beef, chicken or vegetable)
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 all spice seeds
- A few sprigs of thyme (if have on hand)
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp of salt
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tbs of butter
- 3 tbs of flour
- 4 tbs of brown mustard
Instructions
Wash and dry beef roast. With a large sharp knife slice 3/4 inch thick steaks. With a meat tenderizer pound them out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Sprinkle each steak with salt and pepper.
In a medium skillet heat oil and sauté beef for a few minutes on each side, until a little brown. Transfer to a medium pan, add stock (if using low sodium stock, add a teaspoon of salt), bay leaf, all spice, thyme, garlic and simmer (covered) on low for about 2 hours (until meat is tender).
Gently take steaks out, and set aside (you don't want to whisk the sauce with the beef in the pot, it may break apart).
In a small pan make roux. Heat butter until bubbly, add flour and stir until lightly brown (about 2 min). Add a little bit of the stock from beef into the roux, whisk and heat through. Add mustard and whisk until combined.
Transfer roux into sauce and stir well. Bring to boil. Sauce will thicken. Taste. Add salt, if needed and a sprinkle of freshly ground pepper. Return beef steaks into the sauce. Serve hot.
There are many ways of serving this dish. Mashed potatoes are an obvious and maybe preferred option for most Americans, but try this with buckwheat {kasza gryczana}, kopytka or kluski śląskie for a full Polish experience. A side of cold beet salad is the one I go for most often, and a few wedges of sour pickles are a common option also. More Polish side salads, here.
Enjoy and happy cooking!
Anna
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Delicious! We really enjoyed this dish. My favorite part was the sauce. It had the perfect balance of flavor and bite from the mustard. The meat was still tender after reheating so it can work as leftovers too. I’m looking forward to more for my lunch tomorrow!
So good!!! I will definitely be making again!
Just printed out this recipe so that I will be ready on Sunday.